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It’s hard to believe Christmas will be here in about a week! One of my favorite parts of the season are the awesome holiday episodes shows put out, and now it’s your turn to vote for your favorites! I purposely saved this poll for right before Christmas so I could add in some of 2012’s holiday episodes.

Fans have used Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, forums, Reddit, Pinterest, blogs, and chatboxes to get the word out about past polls. Our toolbar at the bottom of the page has lots of quick links to help you share this post, or you can mouse over the image above!

I know I’m missing some of your favorite Christmas episodes, so feel free to nominate more episodes on our Facebook page, tweeting me at @waterfallbooks, or by leaving a comment below. Please include both the show and episode name, and yes, you can nominate this year’s holiday episodes! (Be sure to stick with live-action, scripted shows, though it’s fine if just this one episode has some animation, like with a certain Community episode.) Please only nominate Christmas episodes that are part of a regular show, not one-off specials like “A Charlie Brown Christmas” or movie-related specials like “Shrek the Halls.”

Without further ado, vote for up to fifteen of the episodes below! Poll will close Sunday night, December 23rd, giving you one week to spread the word!

IMDb presents a list of their picks for the top ten new shows – and I agree with just about the entire thing! Each show has a photo and a brief description, followed by thoughts from the site’s editors. I enjoy that they push past all of the hype and nitpicking to give an honest look at how well the pilot episodes work and where they see shows going from there, both good and bad.

#1 Last Resort

My favorite of the pilots I’ve seen so far (admittedly mostly comedy). Great suspense, great characters, awesome possibilities for future stories. I just hope it’s not handicapped by a competitive time slot. Full pilot review here.

#2 Arrow

Dark Knight, archery division. While I haven’t seen the pilot yet, IMDb puts Stephen Amell’s acting somewhere between Tom Welling’s Superman and Christian Bale’s Batman, which is good enough for me! An awesome superhero show for the fall is needed after enjoying superhero movies and Alphas all summer.

#3 The Mindy Project

This was a “see if the pilot’s any good” show for me, but since episode one had an unexpected quirky rom-com charm, I plan to stick around for several more episodes. Pairing this with New Girl is brilliant. Here’s my review of the first episode.

#4 Nashville

One of the few shows I disagree with on this list, mostly since I hate country music and don’t usually like shows that run solely on relational drama (give me murders, spies, bombs, crimes, aliens, cool powers, and other worlds for my drama fix). But if it’s your cup of tea, enjoy away!

#5 Elementary

The third in my trifecta of most-anticipated new dramas this fall (for the others, see #1 and 2 above). I have a feeling the pilot will be a bit spoiled by the promos, so I’m more looking forward to the second episode. And since Sherlock is already reimagining the traditional Holmes stories, I’m glad this show will focus on new stories. Update: my review of the pilot is here.

I don’t follow many cable shows unless they air on USA, Syfy, or TNT, so I had no idea this cool-looking spy drama from Cinemax even existed. If the pilot shows up online I may have to try it out.

#8 Go On

The pilot was great, the second episode a little less so, but I’m definitely giving this show a few more episodes to find its stride. I think the main thing is that the characters don’t feel like family yet, but that usually requires several episodes for most shows. I just hope the writers will be able to find the right balance between humor and pathos as most of the characters deal with pretty significant losses.

#9 Vegas

One of the other exceptions I’d take off this list – not that it isn’t well made, it’s just not a show I care to watch. I don’t watch many historical shows, unless they’re set in a time and place I love (looking at my list of tags, that’s pretty much medieval England, but there are others). Las Vegas doesn’t interest me at all. Neither does the 60s. I don’t really care about the conflict between a sheriff and a mob boss, and the main cast doesn’t feature any actors of whom I’m a huge fan. So even though I have no other broadcast shows to watch at 10pm on Tuesdays, I won’t be watching (at least this sounds better than Unforgettable, though).

#10 Revolution

This, along with Beauty and the Beast, was in my second tier of new dramas to try out, so my anticipation level wasn’t as high, but I was still hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t. While the pilot had some great moments, very little about it pushes me to watch the next episode. Since it conflicts with Castle, I’ll probably save it to watch online, but I have a feeling this is one of those shows that’ll get put off until I’m so far behind I stop watching. I do plan to watch at least the second episode, to see if it gets better.

For pics, plot descriptions, and IMDb editors’ thoughts on these 10 shows, visit the link below.

I went into watching this episode expecting it to be terrible (perhaps remembering Smallville’s cringe-worthy bug episode of its first season), but to my surprise it wasn’t half bad. I even laughed a few times, including when Dean stuck his towel-wrapped head out of the bathroom.

One of the things that made me enjoy the episode was getting some backstory on Sam’s relationship with his dad. Even though it was presented awkwardly (come on, writers, this isn’t the 80s), it really gave me a better idea of how the brothers relate.

Since the description gave away that a Native American burial ground had something to do with the bug attacks, I had the Buffy episode “Pangs” in my head the entire time, but the two didn’t have all that much in common. I did think the much more specific curse on “Bugs” made an interesting difference. (And now I have an arrow-riddled Spike yelling, “A bear! You made a bear! Undo it, undo it!” going on a constant loop in my head.)

I really disliked how the final attack was supposed to be 6 hours long (a little after midnight until dawn), and yet the way it was shot it seemed like a half hour at most. It made the sunrise seem like a cop-out.

All in all, while “Bugs” was a little corny in places, it was much better than the last episode, and is giving me a little hope for the show.

For this round of our TV Olympics (our final poll will launch Sunday), we’re looking at father/son duos! There are a few trios in this poll, since for several of these dads, the bond between both sons seemed equally strong. For others, one father/son relationship seemed more dynamic that the other (and hence more worthy of the term “duo”).

This poll is for actual fathers (biological and adoptive, but not simply father-figures), and since the relationship between dad and son is a key part of the poll, they need to have appeared in a number of episodes together, and infant sons are excluded. If you know of any duos you believe should be in the poll, leave their names and the show in a comment!

Poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 3 of your favorite dad/son duos. Remember to keep checking the main event page for all the current polls and results!

This round of the TV Olympics, we’re looking at dual roles in TV! Whether it’s distinct personae within the same being, or entirely different people, both are portrayed by the same actor for a number of episodes. Whether twins, clones, alternate dimensions, artificial memories, or hostile takeovers, these roles require excellent acting to pull off. Which are your favorites?

I know there are several great dual roles missing from this poll (seems to be a lack of space-set shows) – please let me know which ones in the comments! They should all be from live-action, scripted shows, and the dual role should be in at least several episodes. This shouldn’t be a temporary switched-body thing, where one actor plays a role typically portrayed by another actor – we’ll be doing that poll tomorrow!

The early holidays continue here on TV Breakroom with favorite Thanksgiving episodes! Whether you get to see Alan Tudyk in braids (Suburgatory), have a turkey thaw in a dryer (New Girl), or watch Buffy make a bear (Undo it! Undo it!), these episodes offer lots of laughter, food, and friends.

If there are any great Thanksgiving episodes missing from the poll, please nominate them in the comments! Please note – stand-alone Thanksgiving specials, animated shows, and unscripted programming are not eligible.

Poll will be open for one week, and you can vote for up to 3 episodes. Be sure to check out our other ongoing Olympic polls and the medal results on our main event page!

We’re launching this year’s TV Olympics with the ever-so-cute (you can read that as sarcastic if you lean toward a more jaded view of the world) category of couple names! Often these are used by fans to promote their preferred pairing in shows with love triangles, but occasionally they’ve shown up in actual episodes:

This Monday Madness, as nominated by Kathy Manno, we’re looking at TV villains! Some of these villains are pure evil, while others have a redeemable side and eventually begin working with the good guys – but please vote for them as a villain, not a hero! Some of these villains are so evil they can keep you awake at night, while others are so hilarious in their villainy that you almost want them to win.

This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite TV villains. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10! Fans have used Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, forums, Reddit, blogs, and chatboxes to get the word out about past polls. Get creative!

Even though there are 50-some options on this list, I know there are dozens of TV villains I left out! You can nominate villains I missed in the comments until Thursday night, and I may add them to the poll (villains from live-action scripted shows only, please).

Want more of a say in who makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter or like TV Breakroom on Facebook, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll. Please help out with nominations! There are only so many shows I can watch personally, so I’m counting on you to fill me in!

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM June 25th.

Who is your favorite TV villain? (Choose up to 10!)

Crowley (Mark Sheppard) - Supernatural (8%, 630 Votes)

Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) - Sherlock (7%, 572 Votes)

Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) - Supernatural (6%, 535 Votes)

Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) - Once Upon a Time (5%, 382 Votes)

Regina Mills/Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) - Once Upon a Time (4%, 353 Votes)

This Monday Madness, in honor of Father’s Day this coming Sunday here in the US, we’re looking at TV dads! These dads, whether grounded or goofy, often set the tone of their shows, and no matter how difficult or stubborn, always have a soft spot for their kids. This poll is focusing on actual (both biological and adoptive) dads, since including father-like figures would have made it too lengthy – though many of the dads on this poll do have a father-like role in other characters’ lives.

This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite TV dads. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10! Fans have used Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, forums, Reddit, blogs, and chatboxes to get the word out about past polls. Get creative!

Even though there are 50 70-some options on this list, I know there are dozens of TV dads I left out! You can nominate fathers I missed in the comments until Thursday night, and I may add them to the poll (dads from live-action scripted shows only, please, and the dad must be in at least 3 episodes of the show).

Want more of a say in who makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter or like TV Breakroom on Facebook, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll. Please help out with nominations! There are only so many shows I can watch personally, so I’m counting on you to fill me in!

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM June 18th.

The CW has finally corrected its too-short preview clips of new fall shows Arrow and Emily Owens, MD by releasing extended trailers!

Emily Owens, MD will air Tuesdays at 9, following fellow medical drama, Hart of Dixie. The show stars Mamie Gummer, Justin Hartley (who played the Green Arrow on Smallville), Kelly McCreary, and Michael Rady (who I’m most familiar with as Kostos in the Sisterhood movies; he’s also been reoccurring on The Mentalist and House of Lies recently). WARNING: This preview seems to give away the entire plot of the pilot, so if you’re already eager to watch it, I’d skip the trailer.

Arrow will air Wednesdays at 8, and will be followed by Supernatural. From this trailer, Arrow looks dark, intriguing, and awesome! This isn’t No Ordinary Family, or even The Cape – bad guys aren’t likely to be tied up and left for the police. And from The Hunger Games to The Avengers, archers are “in” right now. I’d describe this show as Hawkeye meets Batman meets The Count of Monte Cristo (only with an island instead of a prison). Arrow stars Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy (Monte Carlo, Melrose Place), Susanna Thompson (Kings, NCIS), Willa Holland, and Paul Blackthorne (The River).

In part two of our TV couples Monday Madness, we’re looking at couples in speculative TV shows! Whether it’s sci fi, fantasy, paranormal, historical myths, or just a futuristic bent, these shows all have something out of the ordinary, even if the couples in them are perfectly normal human beings.

This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite TV couples. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10!

Even though there are 40-some options on this list, I know there are dozens of couples I left out! You can nominate couples I missed in the comments, and I may add them to the poll. Want more of a say in who makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll. Please help out with nominations! There are only so many shows I can watch personally, so I’m counting on you to fill me in!

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM June 4th.

This week on Monday Madness, it’s time to vote for your favorite TV finales! This poll is for season and series finales of both cable and broadcast shows. But this week there’s a twist – for the first seven days, you can nominate your favorite finales and I’ll add them to the poll! I’m doing this because I got so few nominations, and I didn’t want to limit the poll to just my favorites.

This poll will be open for TWO weeks, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite finales. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10! And as shows finish up their runs this year, you can nominate them for a spot on the poll!

Want more of a say in what makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll.

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this AND next week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM May 21th.

Update: this poll has closed. I planned to do a results post like I do with other Monday Madness polls, but I realized any pictures I posted would be full of spoilers (or else very boring). So I decided to skip that part this time.

What's your favorite series or season finale? (Choose up to 10)

Castle - season 4 finale "Always" (22%, 529 Votes)

Castle - season 3 finale "Knockout" (13%, 322 Votes)

Once Upon a Time - season 1 finale "A Land Without Magic" (9%, 223 Votes)

This time on Monday Madness, it’s time to vote for your favorite TV show that has run at least 7 seasons! Whether they are still wrapping up their season 7 or have reached the double-digits, these shows have endured to become TV legends.

This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite long-running shows. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10!

Even though there are 45 50 options on this list, I know there are shows I left out! As always, you can cast write-in ballots by leaving a comment. Want more of a say in what makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll.

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM April 30th.

This time on Monday Madness, it’s time to vote for your favorite undead/nonhuman characters! Whether they are ghosts, vampires, aliens, werewolves, or something a bit more unconventional, they add color and plot twists to every show they are a part of.

This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite undead or nonhuman characters. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10!

Even though there are 40 options on this list, I know there are many great characters I left out! As always, you can cast write-in ballots by leaving a comment. Want more of a say in who makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll.

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM April 23rd.

Update: this poll has ended – results post is here. You can vote on this week’s poll, Favorite Long-Running TV Show, here.

I promised I’d continue the discussion on TV show pilots in the future, and now, a month later, I’m finally getting to it. But what a difference a month can make! Many of these pilots have now signed major cast, so we can get a far better idea of what the show will be like.

And for every show a network picks up, another must depart, so we’ll be looking at which shows aren’t likely to get another season. Since scripted shows are this site’s focus, I’ll ignore any changes to unscripted shows and assume they’ll have the same amount of hours next year.

To make things a little easier as I get started, I’m beginning with the lowest-rated broadcast network with limited hours, the CW.

For 2011-2012, the CW has nine regular-season scripted shows, all hour-long dramas. Three are freshmen (Ringer, The Secret Circle, Hart of Dixie), and one is in its final season (One Tree Hill). Ringer is heading for cancellation, and Hart of Dixie isn’t far behind. Sophomore Nikita isn’t much better, but being on a Friday may give the show some leeway, and Gossip Girl hasn’t left the danger zone.

That means there will be 3-4 (or even 5 if the network wants to make drastic changes to improve in the demo) slots open for new shows next season. The CW has ordered 8 pilots, and most look like strong contenders.

Arrow

A modern retelling of DC Comic’s Green Arrow, this show has a strong cast and good buzz (especially for a superhero that looks like a caricatured Robin Hood). Stephen Amell stars as Oliver Queen, with Susanna Thompson (Kings) and Willa Holland as his mother and sister, Katie Cassidy and Paul Blackthorne as his love interest and her father, and Colin Donnell (Pan Am) as his best friend. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a dearth of superhero shows, which may give Arrow an extra edge to make it to series. And having a Warehouse 13 vet helping helm the show should only help.

Beauty and the Beast

A pretty odd choice for a remake show, but since it’s only “loosely based” on the 1980s procedural and stars Kristin Kreuk and Austin Basis, the show may do okay. Since Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale, I’m going to at least check this out if it makes it to series. Fairy tales are in right now, but I have no clue what direction this show plans to take.

The Carrie Diaries

I had no interest in this show whatsoever until I heard it cast AnnaSophia Robb, whose acting I’ve loved since Bridge to Terebithia. I still don’t think I’ll watch. Sex and the City plus the 1980s? Ugh. And even if it does make it to series based off the other show’s (and movies’) popularity, the demographic that would likely watch it aren’t going to be very familiar with a show that aired a decade ago.

Cult

Mysterious disappearances surrounding a cult TV show? Sorry, but I need more than a minor character from Veronica Mars (Alona Tal) showing up to perk my interest.

First Cut

Medical shows don’t really interest me, and I’m not familiar with Justin Hartley (the CW show Smallville’s Green Arrow) or Mamie Gummer. Michael Rady I know as Kostas on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and I don’t even remember Kelly McCreary’s brief appearances on White Collar. Working at a hospital being like high school all over again could work, but I fear the concept would either disappear or be overplayed.

Joey Dakota

Romantic time-travel musical sounds a bit far-fetched, and the name of the show sounds like a cross between the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana. I’m not familiar with Amber Stevens or Leah Renee, the only cast announcements made so far. I’ll check it out for the novelty if it makes it to series, but I think it’s unlikely.

The Selection

“An epic romance set 300 years in the future which centers on a poor young woman who is chosen by lottery to participate in a competition to become the next queen of a war-torn nation at a crossroads.” That was intriguing enough. Then I found out it was being headed up by Angel and Dollhouse scribes Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain. I’m not familiar with leads Aimee Teegarden or Ethan Peck, and I’ve only seen Sean Patrick Thomas in a few episodes of Ringer. Still, I’m definitely rooting for this one, even though many are claiming it sounds too similar to The Hunger Games.

Shelter

The Help. New England resort. J.J. Abrams. That’s pretty much all that’s known about this show so far.

If I had my choice on which pilots make it to series, I’d pick The Selection, Arrow, and Beauty and the Beast (in that order). Based on buzz and cast, I’m guessing First Cut and The Carrie Diaries are more likely to be picked up than the remaining Cult, Joey Dakota, and Shelter.

What shows do you think the CW should pick up, and which shows should it cancel?